National Bison Range – Visitor’s guide [PHOTOS]

The National Bison Range in Montana is home to one of the last remaining bison herds in North America. The range sits in the picturesque plains of north-central Montana, surrounded by pastel-colored rolling hills flanked by the Rocky Mountains.

Visitors to the range can see bison, black bear, pronghorn, and a variety of birds.

Located on the Flathead Reservation and managed by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), the National Bison Range range is open to visitors year-round and features two scenic drives, offering an immersive experience of undisturbed life on the great plains.

Read this guide for answers to all of your questions about visiting the National Bison Range in Montana: from opening hours and tips for traveling with an RV to lodging options, the pet policy, and more!

Skip to:

• 10 facts about the National Bison Range
• Things to do in the National Bison range
• Walking and hiking the National Bison Range
• 3 other things to do in the National Bison Range
• RVing and Camping near the National Bison Range in Montana
• Hunting in the National Bison Range
• RV: Visiting the National Bison Range in Montana by RV
• Location of the National Bison Range (map)
• Map of the National Bison Range
• Opening hours, entry fees, and contact info
• Food, gasoline, lodging, and other amenities in the range
• FAQs (pet policy, flying drones, etc.)

10 facts about the National Bison Range in Montana

1. The range was established in 1908
2. It was created to preserve the North American bison population, which was on the brink of extinction in the late 1800s
3. Many of the bison here descend from the original bison calves of Pen d’Oreille tribe member Latatice, who was fundamental in bringing the North America bison population back from the brink of extinction in the late 1800s
4. Covers 18,766 acres (7,594 hectares) of land
5. Home to 350 – 500 bison
6. Welcomes 50 – 60 newborn calves annually
7. Home to black bears, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, grouse, owls, and other wildlife
8. The main habitat of the range is rolling prairie
9. Two scenic drives take visitors on an immersive route through the rolling hills of the range, past a variety of wildlife
10. Hiking and hunting in the range are forbidden

Things to do in the National Bison Range

The Bison Range is a self-directed driving tour with two scenic drives that form a single loop through the main areas of the range.

Red Sleep Drive (Primary route)

Red Sleep Drive is a paved 19-mile loop that crosses through the middle of the range, ascends over Red Sleep Mountain, and descends back north to Buffalo Prairie Drive.

Red Sleep Drive is open in the summer only (May-Oct) and features two walking trails. The route features scenic views over the valley below and wildlife sightings along the way.

Buffalo Prairie Drive (Secondary route)

Buffalo Prairie Drive is a 14-mile route that traverses across the northern region of the bison range following the picturesque Mission Creek to a turnaround area.

It sits at a lower elevation in the range and is open year-round. Buffalo Prairie Drive has a reputation for being one of the best places for bison, deer, elk, and pronghorn sightings.

How long does it take to drive the Montana Bison Range?

Red Sleep Drive takes two hours one way, while Buffalo Prairie Drive takes only half an hour.

How big is the National Bison Range in Montana?

The National Bison Range in Montana covers 18,766 acres (7,594 hectares) of land.

Can you stop and get out of your car along the way?

Visitors are free to stop their cars to view wildlife as long as it doesn’t block traffic. 

Getting out of your car in the National Bison Range is permitted only on designated trails, sanitation stations, and picnic areas. Otherwise, visitors must remain in their vehicles.

Beware of wildlife: Bison may look calm and unbothered, but when approached they can easily startle and attack and can run up to 35 mph. Visitors are forbidden to approach the animals in the range and must keep a distance of 100 yards (91 m) from all animals at all times.

What are the chances of seeing bison while visiting the range? (VERY HIGH) 

The bison range consists of over 300 bison on 18,766 acres (7,594 hectares) of land.

Due to the large number of bison on the range, these animals are nearly always visible from the road. Additionally, because there is no hunting allowed on the National Bison Range, the local wildlife often bed down on the hills within view.

You have a very high chance of seeing bison here no matter the time of the year you visit. Your chance of seeing other wildlife, such as bears, mountain goats, deer, and other animals is also very high.

How many bison are on the Bison Range in Montana?

The bison population on the National Bison Range in Montana consists of roughly 350 – 500 adult bison, and the range welcomes 50 – 60 newborn calves each year.

Other animals in the Bison Range (that you’ll see when you visit)

What animals are at the National Bison Range in Montana?

In addition to Bison, the National Bison Range in Montana is home to numerous other animals, such as:

• Elk
• Coyotes
• Bighorn sheep
• Deer
• Pronghorn antelope
• Mountain lions
• Cougars
• Black bears
• Badgers

And a variety of birds, such as:

• American Wigeon
• Northern Goshawk
• Bald and Golden Eagles
• Belted Kingfisher

The land within the National Bison Range in Montana consists of conifer stands, cottonwoods, draws, and flatlands, all of which serve as a rich habitat for diverse wildlife. 

Walking and hiking the National Bison Range

Walking and hiking throughout the National Bison Range is generally prohibited.

However, visitors may exit their cars at designated trails, sanitation stations, and picnic areas along the park’s two main roads, Red Sleep Drive and Buffalo Prairie Drive. 

3 other things to do at the National Bison Range

Besides scenic driving, visitors of the National Bison Range in Montana can also enjoy several other activities, such as picnicking and camping in nearby campgrounds.

Below we detail other things you can do at the National Bison Range.

1. Picnicking at rest stops during the drive

Visitors of the National Bison Refuge in Montana must remain in their car while in the range. However, you can get out and move around at designated picnic areas along the route.

These picnic areas are great opportunities to get out of the car, breathe in some fresh air, stretch your legs, and take in the surrounding scenery of the National Bison Refuge over a picnic.

Beware of wildlife

Bison and bear attacks in Montana are common and often fatal. While bison look like calm, friendly creatures, they attack when they feel threatened and can run up to 35 mph (56 km/h).

Bison range rules require visitors to remain 100 yards (91 m) away from wildlife.

If you decide to have a picnic at a rest stop, be sure you have bear bells and a can of bear spray readily available.

In case you don’t know what bear bells and bear spray are or you have doubts about whether or not they work, our research-based answer to this question might be of interest to you.

If you don’t have a can of spray but you’d like to get one, high-quality spray is available for very reasonable prices on Amazon. For example, this can is a great choice – it’s from the top producer and is currently at 20% off.

2. Photographing the landscape

The National Bison Refuge is an ideal location for landscape and wildlife photography.

Regardless of whether you are a professional photographer or not, the rolling hills of Montana’s Northern Great Plains flanked by the Mission Mountains to the east make for wonderful photo opportunities.

3. RVing and Camping near the National Bison Range in Montana

Can you RV and camp inside the National Bison Range in Montana?

RVing and camping are not permitted within the National Bison Range in Montana.

However, several RV sites and campgrounds located nearby the bison range make for an ideal place to camp out and enjoy the surrounding scenery before or after visiting the range.

RV and camp sites near the National Bison Range in Montana

• Willow Creek Campground. A spacious grassy property offering camping beneath drooping willow trees. Suitable for RVs, but no hookups. Groceries and other amenities are available in nearby Charlo.
• Mission Falls Campground. A secluded campsite on the Mission Reservoir. Visitors enjoy crystal clear blue water and beautiful views of the Mission Mountains. As it’s on tribal land, a conservation license and camping permit are required. Bring bear spray and bear bells, and practice secure and distant food storage at night!
• Jocko Hollow Campground. A campsite with green grass along a creek. The owner usually adorns the picnic tables with flowers. There are bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities onsite. 
• Ravalli Store and Days Rest Campground. I’ve never visited this campsite, I don’t know anyone who has camped here, and there is very little information to be found about it. However, photos in Google show a pleasant, spacious campsite located in a green valley. It’s located near the Bison Inn Cafe.
• Cedar Campground. A primitive, secluded campground a bit further from the National Bison Range – 45 minutes by car. I’ve never visited it, and there is also very little information to be found about this site. Bring bear spray and bear bells, and practice secure and distant food storage at night!

A bit further from the National Bison Range are more RV sites and campgrounds:

• Kreis Pond Campground. A wooded campground on a quaint pod. Challenging to reach with a towed camper or without a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive car. Note: it has a reputation for being busy, which means it’s sometimes noisy. It’s in a natural and wild area, so bring bear spray and bear bells, and practice secure and distant food storage at night!
• Diamond “S” RV Park. Gravel, level sites with full hookups for RVs, plus tent sites. Features onsite laundry and spectacular views of the Mission Mountains. 
• North Crow Creek Campground. A primitive campground without bathroom facilities at the end of a rough road. As it’s on tribal land, a conservation and camping permit are required. Bring bear spray and bear bells and practice secure and distant food storage at night!
• Mission Meadows Camping & RV Park. A campground in a wooded area with public bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities. It has a reputation as a place for long-term renters, people who live and stay here temporarily. 

Many of the campgrounds near the National Bison Range in Montana offer open views of the valley and surrounding Mission Mountains.

What are the best places for stargazing in Montana? Find out here

Hunting in the National Bison Range

Can you hunt on the National Bison Range in Montana?

The Tribes do not allow public hunting on the National Bison Range.

Occasionally, the Tribes carry out “management hunts” for population control of specific animals.

Visiting the National Bison Range in Montana by RV

Since the main activity in the National Bison Range in Montana is scenic driving, most visitors travel here by car. 

However, if you plan to visit by RV, your admission to the range depends on the size of your RV:

Can RVs and cars with trailers drive through the National Bison Range?

If the length of your RV is shorter than 30 ft, you will be allowed entry to the National Bison Range.

However, vehicles that are longer than 30 feet or towing trailers, including ATVs, motorcycles, and bicycles, are not allowed on Red Sleep Drive or Buffalo Prairie Drive.

Find RV sites near the refuge in the camping section of this article.

Location of the National Bison Range in Montana (map)

Where is the National Bison Range in Montana?

The National Bison Range in Montana is located on the Flathead Reservation in north-central Montana. The bison range occupies an 18,766-acre (7,594-hectare) area of land between Moiese, Dixon, Ravalli, and St Ignatius, with a Visitor Center located in Moesie.

→ Moiese is located 48 minutes by car north of Missoula off MT Highway 212.

→ The nearest major airport is the Missoula Montana Airport (MSO).

Illustrated map of the National Bison Range

Below is a map of the territory, roads, and key historic points within the National Bison Range:

Opening hours, entry fees, and contact info

Find the opening hours, contact information, and entry fees for the National Bison Range below. 

Opening hours

What are the opening hours of the National Bison Range in Montana?

Summer (May-Oct)*

• Gate: 7am – 8pm
• Visitors Center (Museum/Gift Shop): 7am – 7pm (Last pass sold at 6:30pm)
• Red Sleep Drive: 7am – 8pm (Last car allowed at 6pm)
• Buffalo Prairie Drive: 7am – 8pm (Last car allowed in at 7pm)

Winter (Nov-April)*

• Gate: 8am – 6pm
• Visitors Center (Museum & Gift Shop): 8am – 5pm (Last pass sold at 4:30pm)
• Red Sleep Drive: CLOSED (opens Mother’s day weekend, weather permitting)
• Buffalo Prairie Drive: 8am – 6pm (Last car allowed in at 5pm)

Holiday hours*

• Thanksgiving: CLOSED
• Christmas Eve (Dec 24): 8am – 2pm
• Christmas Day (Dec 25): CLOSED
• New Year’s Day (Jan 1): CLOSED

*Unexpected closures due to weather or other safety concerns may occur year-round. We recommend calling before arriving to confirm opening hours.

National Bison Range contact information

Phone number: +1 406-644-2211

Email: CSKTbisonrange@gmail.com

Entry fees

How much does it cost to visit the Bison Range in Montana?

Find entry fees for the bison range below:

• Day pass: $20/ vehicle
• Commercial Bus: $45/ vehicle
• Commercial Vans: $35/ vehicle
• Annual Pass Price: $60/ vehicle (expires at the end of the calendar year)
• CSKT Tribal Members: FREE

Food, gasoline, lodging, and other amenities on the National Bison Range in Montana

The only amenities you’ll find on the National Bison Range in Montana are located at the Visitor Center/Gift Shop in Moiese.

Below we outline where you can find supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and lodging near the National Bison Range.

National Bison Range Visitors Center in Moiese

The Visitor Center is located at the entrance of the bison range in Moiese. This is where you buy entrance tickets.

Here, you’ll find exhibits on the wildlife and history of the range, plus various small food and gift items.

Grocery stores near the National Bison Range

The nearest supermarket to the National Bison Range is Rod’s Harvest Foods in St Ignatius – a typical supermarket with a wide selection, plus a pharmacy.

Other stores near the National Bison Range include:

• Charlos Grocery. A regular-sized grocery store in Charlo, 10 minutes north of Moiese on MT 212.
• Lonesome Heritage Farms. A few minutes northwest of Moiese on MT 212, this farm store sells unique farm products, plus various tinctures, sprays, and lotions. It’s not a traditional grocery store for your basic needs.
• The Glacier Tilth Farm Store. Located between Dixon and Ravalli on MT 200, this is another farm store selling Montana-produced farm products, though it’s not a grocery store with for your basic needs.
• Stutzman’s Country Market. A smaller grocery store in St Ignatius with a wide selection.

Interesting fact: St Ignatius is an Amish community on the Flathead Reservation, and Stutzman’s is an Amish-owned supermarket selling many locally produced products.

Who are the Amish? Find out in our article about the Amish of Montana.

Restaurants near the National Bison Range in Montana

The nearest restaurants are located in Dixon, Ravalli, St Ignatius, and Charlo:

• Big River Cantina. Traditional restaurant with typical American dishes in Dixon
• Bison Inn Cafe. Quaint cafe with typical western American cuisine in Ravalli
• Simple Simon’s Pizza. Chain restaurant serving Pizza and other related dishes in St Ignatius
• Branding Iron Bar & Grill. Small restaurant and bar serving traditional American dishes in Charlo

A quick drive through each of these towns will reveal several other restaurants. However, these are small towns with limited variety.

Convenience stores near the National Bison Range in Montana

There are several nearby convenience stores with gasoline in Charlo, Ronan, and St Ignatius:

• Charlo Pump-N-Tow. Charlo (10 minutes drive)
• CHS Mountain West. Ronan (20 minutes drive)
• Exxon. Ronan (20 minutes drive)
• Conoco. St Ignatius (20 minutes drive)

Lodging, hotels, and resorts near the National Bison Range in Montana

Here are the top lodges, bed & breakfasts, and resorts near the bison refuge in Montana:

• Mandorla Ranch Bed & Breakfast. A cozy bed and breakfast where visitors can see deer jumping through the forest from their windows and enjoy wonderful meals. 
• Ninepipes Lodge. A well-maintained lodge offering splendid views. Newly remodeled with a reputation for great service and good meals. Breakfast is included for guests. 
• Mission Mountain Getaway. A well-equipped lodge in a secluded location offering a peaceful and quiet stay. 
• Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort. One of Montana’s finest hot springs resorts is located about an hour’s drive west of the Montana bison preserve. Stay the night and bathe in the onsite, geothermal mineral waters. 

As of writing, there are no hotels within a 30-minute drive of the Montana buffalo range.

However, the Red Lion Inn & Suites and America’s Best Value Port Polson Inn are two hotels with reliable reputations located in Polson, on the southern edge of Flathead Lake, an hour’s drive north of Moiese.

What are the best ghost towns in Montana? Find out here.

Pet policy, flying drones, and other FAQs

Below are answers to commonly asked questions about the National Bison Range in Montana.

Are pets allowed in the National Bison Range?

Pets are allowed in the National Bison Range. They must be on a leash at all times. Please pick up after your pets. 

Can you fly drones in the National Bison Range?

Flying drones in the National Bison Range is prohibited unless the Tribal Council issues you a special permit.

Who started the original herd of bison on the National Bison Range in Montana?

Many of the bison on the present-day National Bison Range are direct descendants of calves from the Pend d’Oreille Native American tribe of the Flathead Reservation in the late 1800s.

A tribe member named Latati brought some calves over the eastern Rocky Mountains back to the Flathead Reservation in the 1870s with the intention of breeding them and saving the bison from extinction.

The herd changed hands multiple times over the following decades, but they and their descendants eventually became some of the first bison transported to the range when it opened in 1908. Other bison on the range originate from bison stock from various regions of North America.

Read the full story of how Latati’s bison calve descendants ended up on the National Bison Range decades later, in our article about the history of bison in Montana.

Who owns the Bison Range in Montana today?

In 2020, Public Law 116-260 restored federal trust ownership of the Bison Range to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of northwest Montana. Today, the tribe’s award-winning natural resource managers oversee the wildlife and land management on the range.

Where in Montana is the national bison range established by Theodore Roosevelt?

The National Bison Range is the only bison range that Theodore Roosevelt established in Montana. Roosevelt established the Range in 1908 on an 18,766-acre (7,594-hectare) tract of land on the Flathead Indian Reservation near the Mission Mountains.

Interested in Montana history? Read about the history of Montana mining here

Visit the National Bison Range in Montana

The National Bison Range in Montana is a great opportunity to see the bison descendants of Latatice’s original calves from over 150 years ago that played a pivotal role in saving today’s North American Bison population from extinction.

Visiting the range is a step back in time and a chance to see these stunning creatures in a completely undisturbed region of the Northern Great Plains.

Visitors of the range can immerse themselves in Montana’s natural environment while observing the results of a unique chapter in North America’s bison history which continues to unfold today.

Enjoy.